Brake mechanism for railway cars



Patented July 21, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. T

. rERoY B. CAMP, or MAYWOTOD, ILLINOIS, AssIenonTo UNIVERSAL DRAFT GEART ATTACHMENT ooMrnNY, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.-

BRAKE MECHANISM FOR RAILWAY CARS.

" Application filed January 7, 1924. Serial No. 684,792.

T To all whomitmay concern: T

Be it known that I, PERCY B. CAMP, a citizen of the United Etates, andresident of Mayvvood, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake Mechanism forRailway Cars, of which the following is a specification and which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof. T p TThis invention relates to brake mechanisms for railway cars and has forits principal object to permit the anchored end of the brake chain orcable to be easily adjusted with accuracy by unskilled labor.

A further object of the invention is to aroduce an article ofmanufacture that can e supplied to car owners at low cost and readilysubstituted by them for the conventional chain anchorage.

Further objects and advantages of the in vention will become apparent asthe dis closure proceeds and the description is read in connection withthe accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of theinvention, and in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a portion ofthe hand brake mechanism and the dead end of the chain anchored to thebrake step by the improved anchorage device;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device as an article of manufacture;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line- 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the yoke and the keyrespectively, forming parts of this embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, a portion of the car underframe appears at equippedwith a brake step 11 in which is suitably journaled a brake staff 12.The power of this staff is communicated to the brake rod 13 through achain 14, running over a sheave 15 and having its dead end anchored tothe step according to this invention.

The preferred embodiment of the invention includes a yoke 16 adapted tostraddle the bottom of the step 11, a bow 17 having its arms adjustablymounted in the yoke and a key 18 adapted to pass through the yoke andthe brake step, and at the same time secure the bow in the yoke.

As will be seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the yoke is substantially U-shaped,having arms 55 19 adapted to receive between them the lower portion ofthe brake step 11 or any other suitable portion of the car. The base 20ofithe yoke is perforated at diagonally opposite corners, as indicatedat 21 and 22, to form passages for the arms 23 and 24 of the bow, andthese passages extend in em larged form along the adjacent sides of thearms 19. In the presentillustration these arms are rectangular in crosssection and the passages correspond in form. The arms 19 of the yoke areequipped with aligned perforations 25 adaptedto receive the key 18 whichalso passesthrough a perforation mthe' step 11. This arrangement placesthe key between the arms 23 and 24 and in order to provide a lockingengagement, the key and the arms are equipped with complemental teeth 26and 27, and 28 and 29; and the walls of the perforations 25 are providedwith similar teeth 30 and 31. The arms 23 and 24 are elongated and aretoothed for a considerable distance. This permits the bow to be securedin a number ofdifferent positions with respect to the yoke and,therefore, provides for a number of adjustments in the length of thechain.

When a brake mechanism has been in service for a period the slackincreases and causes a corresponding increase in the length of-timenecessary to apply the brakes. In brake mechanism using quick take-updevices, as, for example, that illustrated at 15, it is important thatthe length of the chain bear a definite relationship to the other parts.The present invention permits the adjustment to be easily and quicklyaccomplished by merely withdrawing the key 18, slipping the bow 17 alittle further into the yoke and returning the key 18 to position. Asthe only fastening required is a cotter pin 32, this becomes a verysimple operation.

By having the arms 23 and 2 1 pull against the key above and below thebrake step, the load on the key is distributed and the tendency to workout is practically eliminated. By having these arms engage oppositesides of the key, rotation thereof is eliminated.

For simplicity I have shown and described the chain anchored to thebrake step not with the intention of being limited thereby, and thelanguage of the claims is to be construed to cover the application ofthis in vention to any fixed or relatively fixed part of the car. In fathe claims are n t t be limited by the descriptive terms ortheillustration, butonly by the prior' art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a brake mechanism for railway cars, the combination of a brakechain, a yoke, a key secured to the yoke and a bow secured to the chainand engaged withhthe key-on opposite sides thereof.

2. An article of manufacture including a yoke having passages therein, abow having arms in said 'pa-ssages,-and akey engaging the yoke andcooperating with opposed faces .on the arms of the bow to secure thebow'to the yoke.

- 3;- An articlev of manufacture including a yoke having passagestherein, a bowhaving arms in saidpassages, a key and a plurality ofteeth onthe arms of thc bow for selective engagement with the key.

4. In a brake mechanism for railway cars, the combination of abrakestep, a brake chain, a yoke astride-the step, a key passing throughtheyoke and: step, a bow connected with the chain and :having itslegsinserted in the yoke andengaged zit-opposite sites with the key.

5. An article of manufacture including a yoke adapted to receive thebrake step, a bow having its legs slidably mounted in the yoke and a keypassing through the yoke and adjustably securing the legs of the bow tothe yoke. Y

6-.- A I1a l=tlCl'O'f manufacture including a yoke adapted to receive abrake step, a bow having its legs slidablymounted in diagonally oppositeportions-of the yoke, and a key penetrating-the yoke and passing:between the legs of'the bow and effecting a locking engagement withthem.

7. In a brake mechanism for railway cars the combination of a brakestep, a brake chain, a yoke astride the step, a keysecuring the yoke to.the step, a bow connected with the chain and astride the step andthekey, and means for securing the bow to the key.

PERCY B. CAMP.

